The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Pentas plant, botanically known as Pentas lanceolata, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Mars.
The new Pentas is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Odense, Denmark. The new Pentas originated from a self-pollination made by the Inventor of the Pentas lanceolata cultivar Juniper, not patented. The new Pentas was selected in a controlled environment from the resulting progeny by the Inventor in early 1998, on the basis of its purple red-colored flowers and suitability for container production.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in Odense, Denmark has shown that the unique features of this new Pentas are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar Mars have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, daylength, water status, and fertility level without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Marsxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Marsxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Uniform and compact plant habit.
2. Freely branching habit.
3. Numerous purple red-colored flowers.
4. Suitable for container production.
Plants of the new Pentas differ from plants of its parent cultivar, Juniper, and plants of its sibling cultivars sibling cultivars Comet, disclosed in U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/624,468; Polaris, disclosed in U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/624,470; and Venus, disclosed in U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/624,407, primarily in flower color.
Plants of the new Pentas can be compared to plants of the cultivar Cranberry Punch, not patented. Plants of the new Pentas differ from plants of the cultivar Cranberry Punch in the following characteristics:
1. Leaves of the new Pentas are more intense green and glossier than leaves of the cultivar Cranberry Punch. p1 2. Plants of the new Pentas have larger inflorescences than plants of the cultivar Cranberry Punch.
3. Petal color of the new Pentas is darker and more intense than petal color of the cultivar Cranberry Punch.